Promoting relentlessly

Early morning starts with a visit to 10m band, FT8. Putting out a CQ call, with antenna pointing to north America results in a steady wave of callers. Seeing a sea of callers flooding the decoding window is mesmerising. Yet what really impressed me is the stream of callers I’ve never worked before. New callsigns, new stations from all over America, morning after morning, all eager to get into my log. There is so much excitement about amateur radio over there with hundreds of thousands of licensed operators active on all bands and modes. Which makes one wonder: Why are they so excited to invest in radios and antennas, and devote their time playing radios?

The answer is simple: all that activity in the US, as well as Europe and Japan is the result of decades of promoting the hobby in the most positive, sophisticated and proactive way. A result of countless articles about dxing, contesting, expeditions, about travelling to remote places with a small radio and a wire just to get a feel of how the signals sound on the other side of the world. Sharing the excitement, a sense of being a part of the global movement over many years has resulted in an army of dedicated and competitive operators. Excitement which generates more excitement.

Why aren’t we like the Americans? Because we are not. We are a young nation, deeply rooted in conservative, restrained, Anglo-Saxon culture. Keeping a low profile, keeping to oneself, keeping it quiet is seen as a virtue.

Yet to strive, amateur radio in Australia needs excited promoters. Dedicated, vocal, eloquent, confident, progressive and opinionated, yet inclusive and welcoming. People like Peter VK3YE and Hayden VK7HH. We need them desperately, and we need them now.